


Just When You Thought It Was Over

by HallowedNight



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Baby kaiju!, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Other, Tentacles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-19
Updated: 2014-07-16
Packaged: 2017-12-20 16:16:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/889294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HallowedNight/pseuds/HallowedNight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Kaiju War is over, and Newton Geiszler is out of a job. Unfortunately, has nowhere to go but his parent's empty 'estate'. Upset and bored, Newt has no idea what he's supposed to do for the rest of his life; but what he finds in the backyard (and who he calls for help) will definitely shake things up a bit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Home

**Author's Note:**

> I was bored... I don't know if I'm gonna continue this, but if I do there will have to be a little Newt/Hermann in there. They're my babies.

The last thing – absolute last thing – Newton Geiszler wanted to do when the Kaiju War was over was to go back to his parent’s ‘estate’. (Estate was definitely an overstatement, he always thought; the cottage could only be described as quaint, and the only overly-large feature was the backyard.) At least his parents weren’t home, and wouldn’t be for a couple months. 

Sure, it would have been easy for Newt to find an apartment or something, but he wasn’t exactly rich; now that the Kaiju War was over, no one needed his expertise anymore. The Jaeger pilots would always be rockstars, even the ones that had given their lives, but no one cared about the nerdy little scientists who had made all that possible. 

A stubborn scowl had been plastered over Newt’s face for days, and it remained firmly in place as he jerked the door open with a little more force than was strictly necessary. The key had been hidden under the mat, as per usual; his parents never listened when he told them the hiding place was too cliché. After all, if someone wanted to break in, that’s the first place they’d look for a key, right?

Shaking his head slightly; Newt tended to get sidetracked quite easily; the scientist pulled the door shut and jiggled the doorknob till he heard the familiar click that told him it was fully latched. He had to resist the strong urge to flop down on the couch and take a nap, as he hadn’t slept in a day or two. He was worried, as much as he hated to admit it. Kaijus had been his life for as long as he had been working, and he didn’t want to do anything else on daily basis. After gigantic, inter-dimensional, cloned monsters, pretty much anything on Earth was about as boring as a sack of Kaiju shit. 

Take that back; even Kaiju shit was more interesting than anything on Earth (at least, to Newton).

Sighing grumpily, Newt scrunched up his nose and crossed his arms, looking for all the world like a little kid pouting over his favorite show being canceled. He threw a kick at the nearest wall as he made his way out to the kitchen and back porch, but his boot just bounced off the baseboard.

“Ah, screw… Well, I’m here.” Newton leaned his forehead against the cool glass of the sliding door, his fingers idly playing with the latch as his breath condensed before him. When he finally flicked his eyes upwards, the patch of glass immediately visible was completely clouded, and he made no move to wipe it clean. He knew exactly what the backyard looked like, and the glass felt wonderful against his aching head.

Though Newt insisted he only needed fourteen hours of sleep a week to be his usual, hyperactive self, the familiar exhaustion he had been carrying for days began to tug him towards his childhood room. As he turned however, something in the yard caught his eye; something big.

Furrowing his brow, Newton slid the door open as quietly as possible and crept onto the porch, trying (and failing) to remain hidden. His first thought was that someone had set up some sort of meth lab in his parents’ yard, which terrified him. There was no way he would be able to fight off anyone who didn’t want to leave; his brain was the only muscle in his body that got any sort of regular workout (and the brain technically isn’t a muscle). 

As he peeked over the handrail around the porch however, he realized that what he thought was a bad situation was actually worse; much, much worse. His fingers shook as he pulled out his phone and frantically began dialing.

“Hello? This is Dr. Hermann Go-”

“I know who this is,” Newt hissed. “H-Herm…you’re never gonna- you have to- _There’s an effing baby Kaiju in my backyard_.”


	2. Tendrils

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I regret nothing.

“You- _What_?” Disbelief was woven throughout Gottlieb’s voice as he broke the awkward, across-the-phone silence.

“A baby Kaiju! It’s in my-”

“That’s not possible, Newton, you’re hallucinating. Call a doctor-”

“I’m not fucking hallucinating!” Newt peeked back over the handrail, exhaling unsteadily when he caught sight of the large, grey lump in his yard. “It’s…it’s sleeping. Here-” He snapped a quick picture (or three; his hands were still shaking crazily) and sent it to Gottlieb, then leaned against the rail and closed his eyes. 

“This…is this some kind of joke?” Gottlieb whispered. 

Newt frowned and rolled his eyes. “Of course not! You know I’m not joking, and I know what you’re gonna say, but I think…maybe I should-”

“No! Absolutely not! We’re going to tell-”

“Nuh-uh, Hermann, he’s in my yard, and if someone comes down here they’ll kill him-”

“ _Him_?” Gottlieb sounded appalled. “Listen to me. Newt!” The tattooed scientist snapped his mouth shut, cursing the faint connection their Drift experience left them with. “You can’t seriously believe you can keep it! Newton, it’s going to kill you if you get near it, you need to call the Marshall…”

Allowing Gottlieb’s voice to fade into the background noise of his consciousness, Newt began to creep down the porch steps to the lawn, crouching as his feet touched the grass. “Hermann… I’ll talk to you later.”

“Newt, don’t you dare hang-”

Completely ignoring the other man’s protests, Newt slipped out of his boots and dropped his phone inside the left one. Wiggling his toes into the cool, thick grass, the doctor drew several calming breaths before taking his first tentative steps towards the monster. Judging by the slow rise and fall of its…well, everything (it was curled up too tightly to distinguish many features), the Kaiju was sleeping comfortably. Only its head was immediately recognizable, jutting out from the bulk of its body; it looked not unlike a dragon, with serrated teeth that poked up from its lower jaw and large, triangular nostrils just in front of its six eyes, three on each side, which were all currently closed. 

“Hey…hey, beautiful…” Newton breathed as he shuffled closer to the Kaiju. “I won’t hurt you, baby… Oh god…” Adjusting his glasses, the scientist struggled to control his heartbeat. The beast’s hot breath ghosted over Newt’s exposed skin, raising goosebumps down the length of his spine. “Oh my…how are you possible, you gorgeous-”

Newton’s voice suddenly caught in his throat as six brilliant, electric blue eyes slid open, slowly focusing behind nearly transparent secondary eyelids. Squinting as a particularly strong blast of air gusted passed him, Newt lowered himself into a crouch and stared into the Kaiju’s eyes, holding his breath. A low rumble began to vibrate though the air as the monster pushed itself to its feet – all six of them – and bared its teeth in a bone-rattling growl. Tiny flecks of blue saliva spotted Newt’s glasses, but he made no move to wipe them away.

The Kaiju was small, by Kaiju standards; Newt guessed it was around twenty feet long and a little more than six feet tall at the shoulder. Vaguely lizard-shaped, it had a long tail and two sets of muscular legs, much like a Komodo dragon or monitor lizard, spaced far apart along its body. A smaller set of appendages near the front legs helped support the chest and back, which were crisscrossed with the trademark blue lines found on almost all Kaiju. 

Newt’s usual analysis was cut short as a snort from the creature sent several globs of a viscous, electric blue liquid flying in the scientist’s direction. He snapped out of his trance and jumped back, cursing, and fully expecting his skin to start sloughing off at any second. When it didn’t however, he immediately flopped backwards onto the ground and swallowed dryly.

Its attention now completely focused on Newton, the Kaiju narrowed its eyes, the pupils contracting into severe slits against their blazing blue background. Languidly, almost as if it had a mind of its own, a long, muscled tongue snaked out of the creature’s mouth and split into four searching tendrils that reached towards the now trembling doctor. Newt’s mind snapped back to the bunker in Hong Kong; he had escaped death by Kaiju-tongue once, but going near one again was definitely pushing his luck.

Newton’s luck, however, was apparently not at the forefront of this particular Kaiju-tongue’s thoughts, as one tendril suddenly constricted around the scientist’s ankle and pulled him closer, allowing the other three strands to begin feeling along his body, grazing over his skin with a searing, visceral heat. Newt’s mouth opened in a silent gasp as one found its way up his shirt; his subconscious mind fought to ignore the heat, while his rational brain braced for his guts to be spilled at any moment. 

The doctor had been completely unaware of the fact that he had been arching off the ground until the tentacles were abruptly yanked away and his back fell back to earth. Slowly uncurling his cramped toes, Newt watched as the Kaiju surveyed him for another brief second before turning its back and slinking to another, cushier place in the fenced yard, four-pronged tail swinging lazily behind it. He blinked several times, whimpered quietly, and passed out cold in the grass before even having a chance to pull his shirt back down over his tattooed torso.


	3. Shower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Newt + Shower = Adorable. Also, Hermann acting like Newt's mother. Just as adorable.
> 
> (Okay, guess what. I have a plot and stuff for this~ :D I promise things will make sense eventually... I PROMISE- ;u; I'm kind of ignoring some canon things, like Hermann being married, but that's okay. My universe, my rules~)

It was nearly dark by the time Newton woke from his black out, sore, cramped and soaked with dew. He kept his eyes shut initially, listening to the sounds of nighttime all around him, barely aware of where he was or what had transpired several hours earlier. It all came flooding back soon enough however, in a scorching blue blur of sticky tendrils and blazing eyes. The scientist’s own eyes flew open suddenly and he scrambled to his feet, not daring to look behind him as he snatched his boots and bolted up the porch stairs and into the house.

Once the sliding door was locked behind him, Newt finally turned to survey the yard. The baby Kaiju was still there, curled in a far corner, only just visible in the near darkness. Only its gleaming eyes and faint blue patterns gave away its location; it appeared as though the creature had watched Newt’s retreat, but made no move to follow. This was definitely confusing to the doctor, as no Kaiju he had ever heard of (A.K.A. no Kaiju ever) had done anything but destroy cities and kill things, yet this one seemed content to sleep in a well-kept yard in the London countryside.

Hesitantly pushing these thoughts aside as the Kaiju’s eyes slid shut once again, Newt turned his attention to his current state of dishevelment. He was caked head to toe with what could only be Kaiju snot (oh, the experiments he could perform), and his hair and clothes were soggy and smelled vaguely of his mother’s compost heap. Keeping his eyes trained on the dark lump in his yard, the scientist slowly began to strip, his still shaky fingers fumbling with the buttons of his shirt and pants. Once his clothes, minus boxers, were thrown haphazardly into the washing machine (and he had checked once more to make sure the Kaiju wasn’t smashing down his door), Newt walked dazedly into the bathroom and flopped down on the lidded toilet, his cell phone in hand. Though he didn’t quite remember telling his fingers to do so, he had soon dialed Hermann’s number and put the phone on the marble counter beside him, jabbing the speaker button just as the familiar voice spoke.

“ _Doctor Newton Geiszler!!_ ” Oh, this was not going to be good. Entirely aware of what was coming next, Newt snatched his phone off the counter and quickly dialed down the volume before turning his attention back to Gottlieb’s rant. “What were you _thinking_?! If you _ever_ hang up on me again in a situation like that, I swear to God I will-”

“It licked me.”

“-disembowel you with a rusty- What?”

“It licked me,” Newt repeated. “It licked me, then just let me go.”

“Oh, and I suppose that makes everything just fine then? You can just have yourself a sweet little pet, hmm?” Hermann’s voice was laced with sarcasm, but Newt ignored it, staring at the wall in front of him as a large grin began to spread over his face.

“Yeah…a pet… He didn’t kill me the first time…and no one lives around here, no one would ever know-”

“ _NEWT_!!” Hermann’s screech was just enough to snap the scientist from his Kaiju-induced trace. “Have you forgotten that these things: one, are extremely toxic; two, kill things just because they can; three, are from another damn dimension; and four, tried to destroy our planet?! You can’t keep one as a thrice-damned pet!”

“Herm! Cool your jets, dude, hear me out. The Kaiju were controlled by their creators, right? Had the whole hive-mind thing going on, yeah? But they’re not connected anymore; he’s the only one left now that the Breach is gone, and I’m guessing that the creator-things can’t control him anymore. They’re intelligent, Hermann; he’s intelligent, not just some horrible killing machine!” Newt took a deep breath and turned his gaze wistfully to the ceiling. “You should see him, Hermann…he’s gorgeous. And there’s no way I’m gonna let some crack-head government bastard kill him and chop him up-”

“Have you forgotten that that’s what you’ve been doing for a living for the past ten years?”

This comment stopped Newton in his tracks. Now that he thought about it, Hermann was absolutely, one-hundred percent right, as much as Newt hated to admit it. “That…that’s irrelevant. Those were already dead, but this little guy isn’t, and I don’t want him to be.” Crossing his arms defensively, the doctor glared down at his phone. “You haven’t seen him, you don’t-”

“Yet.”

“What?”

“Haven’t seen him yet. I’m coming over there, Newt, to talk some sense into you. I’ll be there in a week, no questions.” The man sounded very sure of himself, and Newt didn’t feel like arguing. He was already getting a headache, though from stress, exposure or the lingering effects of his Drift with Gottlieb, he couldn’t tell.

“Umm…whatever.” Now rather subdued, Newt took the phone off speaker and raised it to his ear as he stood. “I need a shower, Hermann, we’ll talk about this later.”

“I believe that you’re the one who called me.”

“Yeah, well now I’m the one hanging up on you. Again. Goodbye, Herm.” The biologist didn’t wait for a reply before he poked the ‘end call’ button and chucked his phone unceremoniously into the next room. He shut the bathroom door and locked it (he didn’t like taking chances), then crossed to the shower and turned it on. It took several minutes for the water to warm up, so Newt took the time to peel off his boxers and stare at himself in the mirror. He was a tiny bit pudgier than he last remembered, but the tattoos did a good job of hiding it.

Newt had always been proud of his tattoos; though his parents had thrown a fit when he showed them, he never regretted getting them done. No matter what happened throughout the rest of his life, the Kaiju War would always be the climax of his existence, and he could think of no better way to commemorate the best years of his life than by making himself a walking canvas for a beautiful shrine to the creatures he coveted.

Smiling ever so slightly as he plucked his glasses from his face and transferred them to the counter, Newton shuffled to the shower and pulled back the curtain, sighing as the now steaming water began the arduous task of stripping his body of layers of dirt, sweat and Kaiju fluids. He struggled to run his hands through his hair, though he couldn’t really tell if it was a product of his hectic evening or simply the gel he had thrown in haphazardly that morning. Shrugging to himself, Newt plucked a washcloth from a rack just outside the shower and set to work scraping himself clean.

It took at least ten minutes of intense showering before Newt felt sanitary enough to turn off the water and step, shivering, out into the regretfully unheated bathroom. He slung a towel around his waist and sighed though his teeth as he remembered that his clothes were in a suitcase out in his car. Resigning himself to the unpleasant task, the doctor draped several more towels around himself and stomped out to the front room, stepping into his boots as he passed them. They were clunky and uncomfortable with the laces loosened and flopping around, but they got him to the car and back in one piece, regardless of the few times Newt tripped over his own feet.

Hauling the suitcase into his room, Newt propped it against the bed and hopped back into the bathroom, trying to avoid anymore drips on the carpet. He speed-dried his body and tousled his hair into a relatively dry, scruffy-looking mess, then grabbed a pair of sweatpants from the top of his suitcase (which took him far too long to unzip), and pulled them up while rushing to the nearest window that overlooked the backyard. His stomach dropped immediately; the Kaiju was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly terrified, Newton tiptoed back out to the darkened kitchen. His fears were groundless however, as a familiar pair (or three) of eyes were staring through the sliding glass door, tracing the scientist’s every movement as he crossed the tile floor to flick on the nearest light. The Kaiju’s pupils contracted immediately, and the biology nerd in Newt squealed with glee. Rubbing his upper arms to rid them of the goosebumps that had begun to rise, he took several tentative steps toward the door, his eyes never leaving the enormous, shining blue orbs that still followed him.

“See… You know I’m not gonna hurt you…and you’re not gonna hurt me, are you?” A small smile curled Newt’s lips. “I bet you’re glad to be free from those crazy creator people, huh?” He murmured, though he had no idea if the creature could hear him or not.

The doctor suddenly froze as he saw one of the Kaiju’s front paws shift slightly. It raised, almost hesitantly, and rapped the glass in front of it gently, almost as if it was knocking. Newt nearly passed out again; _it wanted to come inside_.


	4. Consciousness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate this chapter a little bit. Oh well.

Newt had always thought that Kaiju were smart…but definitely not this smart. Though he couldn’t be sure if it was as intelligent as a human, the creature obviously wasn’t just a dumb brute; it had knocked on his door for Christsake!

“Umm…okay, you… I don’t think letting you inside is a good idea, if you…get what I’m saying. ‘Cause you’re big, and- Oh, whoa, whoa, okay-” Scampering to the door as the Kaiju hissed quietly, Newt ran a hand through his hair and exhaled loudly. To the scientist’s amazement, the Kaiju slowly fell back onto its haunches and tilted its head slightly, as if aware of Newton’s plight. It apparently decided it didn’t care how conflicted the human was however, as a second later the beast’s four-tendriled tail whipped around and all but attacked the door handle, ripping the door open with terrifying ease, regardless of the lock.

“Oh God, you’re in my house…and I’m gonna have to fix that lock you know, ‘cause- Ah, ah, hey!” Newt gasped and cursed at the familiar feeling of wet, warm tentacles curling around his throat and wrists. The Kaiju kept advancing through the small entranceway and into the main room of the kitchen, a trajectory that eventually had Newt pressed against the island, arms held forcefully above his head. Entirely unsure of what to do from here, the biologist screwed his eyes shut, trying to ignore the creature’s hot breath against his bare skin.

Being completely resigned to his unavoidable and probably painful death, Newt was surprised that the next sensation he felt was a slick tendril gliding down to his waistband, as opposed to razor-sharp teeth ripping his limbs off. His eyes snapped open and he tugged forcefully away from the Kaiju’s tongue, slipping away from the creature with surprising ease. Nearly tumbling onto the cold tile floor, Newton held the counter for support and scrambled to the other side of the island, silently praying as the Kaiju’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

“Look!” Newt held up his arms, gesturing wildly to the tattoos that covered his torso. “I know about you guys, I actually like you! I’m not gonna hurt you, and you were being perfectly civil a few seconds ago.” Lowering his hands onto the counter, the scientist sighed heavily; the tongue was sealed behind the creature’s teeth once again, but it did little to ease the knotted ache in Newton’s stomach. “Let’s just…be calm, okay?” As if in response, the Kaiju settled onto his haunches once again, watching the human with what Newt saw as a healthy dose of skepticism. “Can you…actually understand what I’m saying? ‘Cause that would be incred-”

Before he had a chance to recoil, the Kaiju’s tongue lashed out again. This time however, the tendrils settled gently on Newt’s head; the scientist had only a split-second to look confused before he lurched forward, and blacked out.

_Newt watched, suspended, as familiar memories flashed around him; little snatches of his childhood, MIT, Hermann…obsessing over the latest Kaiju attack, relocating his cardboard box of stuff when his girlfriend kicked him out…starting at the PPDC, dissecting his first Kaiju spleen…_

_The recollections suddenly stopped whirling, to be replaced by…_ something _, an awareness that grated against Newton’s own in a strange, alien way. Almost like-_

_“Am I Drifting with you right now? What the hell- You can_ do _that? How-”_

_“Hush.” The voice was deep and commanding, but somehow slippery, shifting from an actual voice to impressions and emotions that swept Newt away in a tide of consciousness he couldn’t hope to fathom. He could only catch vague glimpses of the Kaiju’s thoughts, but it was apparent that the creature was as intelligent as any human. This alone terrified Newton; two weeks ago, he would have given anything for this information, but now he felt engulfed and overwhelmed, completely outmatched by a mind far more complex and powerful than his own. The beast felt…old, wise beyond years, and full of memory._

_It took several seconds for Newt to realize he had been holding his breath. Though this world was like the Drift; it kept the familiar blueish tint, and everything seemed to hang in empty space; it was far more stable, and nearly, but not quite, corporeal._

_“How…what…what are you? Why are you here?_ How _are you here?”_

_Though the consciousness of the creature seemed disinclined to speak again, Newt was soon bombarded by images and feelings: a snapshot of a decaying Kaiju; a pristine lab manned by an equally pristine scientist; test tubes, DNA, the Kaiju’s creators- The images sped up and blurred, filling Newton’s mind to bursting before he cried out and flung his hands forward, as if to protect himself from the whirlwind of thoughts._

Suddenly back on his kitchen floor, Newt gasped and gagged, dragging himself away from the Kaiju as quickly as possible. Fat drops of blood splashed onto his chest from his nose, which was gushing profusely.

“I…I know… I understand you.” The scientist gazed up at the creature standing sternly over him, his eyes bloodshot and watering. “And you can understand me. You’re…you’re amazing.”

The Kaiju hummed deep in its chest, and flicked out its tongue to lap at the blood still oozing down Newt’s torso.


	5. Names

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Baby I'm back. You can blame it all on me. (Actually, blame it on school.)
> 
> Thought I would continue this 'cause I've been in a Kaiju mood after seeing the new Godzilla. 
> 
> Enjoy!

It was several minutes before Newt regained the ability to think coherently. The reality of what he had just experienced hadn’t yet fully sunk in when he pushed himself to his feet and locked eyes with the first set of shocking blue irises before him. His mouth opened and closed several times, but words inevitably failed the scientist; his head was still spinning with the images he had seen in the Kaiju’s mind, his own comparably puny intellect still struggling to comprehend the beast’s incredible psyche.

The Kaiju blinked lazily before setting back on its haunches, seemingly unimpressed. Now that Newt had briefly inspected the Kaiju’s consciousness, he could almost read the creature’s body language, as if he had been clued in to a silent dialect previously unknown to him. The practically smug look on the Kaiju’s face finally spurred Newt into action; whatever was going on with his life at the moment, he figured he might as well go with it. Hell, he could be hallucinating right now, so he should make full use of the interesting opportunity he had been granted before he woke up. 

“Well don’t just sit there, you big lump,” Newt growled grumpily as he began to tromp back to the bedroom. “You got me all nasty again, and I just got out of the shower.” Ignoring the weakness emanating from his knees, the biologist made it to the bathroom and grabbed a towel to wipe the blood and Kaiju saliva from his front, vaguely noticing as the Kaiju followed him into the bedroom. 

A jarring crash suddenly erupted from the kitchen, causing Newt to jolt painfully against the doorframe; the Kaiju’s four-pronged tail had knocked down the rack of pots and pans hanging over the kitchen island. Snorting unhappily, the creature slunk onto Newt’s bed and curled its thick tail around itself, careful to keep it away from any other loose household articles. 

Newt watched this display with a weird mix of horror, amusement and curiosity. It was amazing how much more… _human_ the Kaiju seemed now. The pair had reached a sort of agreement, Newt decided; when they melded-minds – Drifted, whatever it was the Kaiju had done – it seemed as though a little bit of the creature’s thought processes had stayed behind in Newt’s mind. He was no longer afraid of the Kaiju, though he knew better than to let his guard down completely. 

“You’re gonna clean that up in the morning, I hope you know.” Newt flopped down against the wall opposite the Kaiju’s head, his gaze flipping from the creature’s eyes to its tail, which was twitching from side to side not unlike a cat’s. The beast responded with a lethargic blink, as if to say ‘yeah, alright then.’ Newt rolled his eyes. “And you’re on my bed too, though I guess you knew that. Who died and made you king?” He giggled. It had dawned on him that he was talking to a beast that could kill him with its six eyes closed and all four legs tied together; it was a rather disconcerting thought, though it was interrupted quickly by the Kaiju’s tail. The thing slid down from the bed like a multi-headed snake and, before Newt could scoot away, wrapped around his ankle. 

The material world disintegrated momentarily, but soon slid back into focus as Newt steadied himself with both hands against the floor. It felt as though someone had stuck an antennae into his brain; it didn’t hurt, per se, but Newt felt vaguely violated, as if something foreign had lodged itself into his subconscious. Confused, he gazed warily at the Kaiju as the tail retreated back to its owner. 

_You are a strange creature._

Newt started and looked around in alarm for several seconds before he realized where the voice must have come from. “Do not tell me you’re talking inside my head. That’s insane.”

This pronouncement was followed by a rumble of laughter in Newt’s mind, which was accompanied by an awkward, choking growl from the Kaiju’s physical form. Unsure of whether to feel terrified or resentful that an alien creature was calling him strange and laughing in his face, Newt crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. All this seemed awfully unrealistic, and Newt’s brain was having a hard time coming to terms with the evening’s events.

_When we are fighting and killing your people, you are fascinated with us. But now you shy away. I do not understand._

“I- You? You’re a… You’re a you? I mean…” Newt stumbled over his words for a second before taking a deep breath and looking back to his occupied bed. “This is just kind of…weird and unexpected, that’s all. We thought the Breach was destroyed and all of the Kaiju were gone. And now you’re talking to me, so that’s totally new.”

The Kaiju exhaled loudly in response and curled its tail tighter around itself, looking not unlike a many-legged, wingless dragon.

“Though,” Newt said thoughtfully, “if this is real and I haven’t gone off the deep end into the crazy pool, this is pretty awesome. I’ve always wanted to talk to a Kaiju…” The biologist allowed his disbelief to melt into quiet contentment; this lasted only momentarily, however, as a silly grin soon spread over his features. The Kaiju tilted its head slightly as a feeling of alien confusion leaked into Newton’s brain from the Kaiju’s link. 

“I was just thinking about my…colleague Hermann. He’s gonna absolutely flip shit.” Newt sniggered once again, but the smile was wiped from his face at the Kaiju’s next words.

_This is your mate then?_

Newt spluttered into the silence the followed, turning a faint pink under the Kaiju’s unwavering stare. “Um, no. Absolutely not. Herm-? No. Nuh-uh.”

Newt could all but see the Kaiju’s eyebrow raise but chose to ignore the creature’s cynicism.

_If you insist._

Silence pervaded the room for a moment before Newt regained enough composure to speak once again. “So are you male or female? Do you have a name?” He didn’t really think that calling the Kaiju “the Kaiju” all the time would suffice now that they were on speaking terms.

 _I am…male._ Newt suspected this; something about the creature’s voice didn’t seem at all female. _I do not have a name in the same way do you. I can be identified by my experiences, but I have no singular word to describe…me._

The biologist could tell that, even with the help of his human mind, the Kaiju was having trouble fully grasping such human concepts. Newt could understand this; after all, the creature hadn’t really been in contact with any humans until a few minutes ago. 

“Well, I guess I’ll have to come up with a name for you then.” Newt leaned his head against the wall behind him and began chewing his bottom lip, hyperaware of the three sets of electric blue eyes fixed firmly on his face. Names had never been Newton’s strong-suit; all his pets had always had generic names, but he figured that “Old Blue” probably wouldn’t work for an enormous alien-lizard-thing. 

“Well… How about Ao? Means blue in Japanese.” Newt could feel the disapproval emanating from the Kaiju and rolled his eyes. “Okay… Zafiro? Sapphire in Spanish?” That didn’t sit well either, causing Newt to huff a sigh and stare discontentedly at the creature curled on his bed. “Um… Ziyou? That means freedom in Chinese.” Newt had originally been thinking of some German names, but Chinese just seemed to fit the creature in front of him. Sure enough, a deep, resonant hum from the Kaiju’s chest signaled his agreement. Newt grinned.

“Alright then…Ziyou. I would say I have a new pet, but I’m guessing you’re gonna be a bit – a lot – more like a roommate.”

Ziyou grunted.

“Are you gonna get off my bed?”

_No._

“Am I gonna have to sleep with you?”

 _No._ The Kaiju seemed quietly amused, unlike Newt, who pushed himself to his feet and crossed his arms.

“There’s no way I’m sleeping on the couch in my own house.”

Ziyou snorted before stepping off the bed and striding into the living room. Newton had to suppress a smile; the creature looked absurd against his too-small surroundings, as if a little brother had shoved his dinosaur figure into his sister’s dollhouse. The smile slipped away as quickly as it had appeared, however, as the Kaiju proceeded to shred the living room carpet, clawing the floor like a dog trying to fix its bed. 

“Aw, c’mon! Do you have any idea how much money that’s going to take to replace?” Newt ran to the living room, only to be stopped by Ziyou's tail wrapping loosely around his neck.

_I was perfectly happy on your bed._

Newt swallowed against the appendage around his throat; he could tell that the Kaiju was going to take every opportunity to remind the biologist who was really in control in their odd situation. As the tail fell away, Newt rolled his eyes and stalked back into the bedroom.

“Fine, be that way. But remember who has the thumbs here. I doubt you can work the stove.”

_Human food? I think not. We shall…go shopping tomorrow._

Newt gulped audibly at this statement; the next few days were not going to be easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: I changed some names. Someone caught my Japanese cheating and made me self-conscious. :P
> 
> Ziyou is basically pronounced ZEE-yoh.


	6. Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead~ Have another chapter. c:

For the first time in years, Newton slept completely peacefully; not even an innocuous dream interrupted his slumber. 

When the morning sunlight all but stabbed through his eyelids, the man shot to a sitting position, eyebrows furrowed; he never slept this well, and it was slightly disconcerting. Feeling as though he had forgotten something important, Newt wrestled his glasses open and onto his face, then cast a sweeping glance around his room. Nothing out of the ordinary presented itself, so he rolled onto the floor and made his way to the bathroom, still vaguely concerned about the nagging feeling in the back of his mind. 

Once he had relieved himself and washed his face, Newt popped a toothbrush in his mouth and walked out to the living room, leaving his boxers on the floor where he had dropped them the previous night. This was his house after all and-

What the hell was he forgetting? That was so infuria-

Newt suddenly registered the large, boulder-like mass in the middle of his living room.

Oh, right. That Kaiju was still a thing.

The nagging sensation, which Newt now remembered with disturbing clarity was the Kaiju’s consciousness, morphed into a distinctly amused mass of foreign thought that clashed horribly with Newton’s own surprise and embarrassment. Hoping to regain some dignity, the human ducked back into his room, throwing on a new pair of sweatpants on his way to the sink.

Wait, since when did he care if an animal saw him naked? That’s kind of like your dog watching you have sex. It’s uncomfortable, yeah, but you’re not actually embarrassed…  
Except that there was a mind inside his head that _was not his_ that reminded Newt how intelligent this particular creature actually was. Definitely smarter than a dog. In fact, Ziyou was probably smarter than most humans.

“God, this is bizarre,” Newton murmured to no one in particular as he shuffled into the kitchen, ignoring Ziyou, who was now watching the human with his many-eyed head propped on an end table. “I thought I told you to clean this mess up,” said Newt exasperatedly as he stubbed his toe on a pan half hidden under the counter. The Kaiju simply continued to stare until Newt rolled his eyes, picked up said pan and began foraging for breakfast, chucking pots and pans onto the counter whenever he came across them. Thankfully, whoever cleaned the house for his parents knew he had been coming, so the kitchen was stocked with the essentials, eggs included.

Once all the dishes had made their way back to the hanging rack and a heaping plate of extra fluffy scrambled eggs had made its way into Newton’s lap, the biologist turned his attention to Ziyou. The Kaiju hadn’t moved.

“You’re not going to do anything I tell you to, are you?”

 _No_ , came the amused reply. Newt jumped slightly, still unused to the sensation of a voice inside his head that wasn’t his own.  
“Well, you can go outside if you want. Don’t you have, ah…business to do?” 

There was that awkward growl thing again; the more he listened, the more it sounded like laughter. 

“What’s so funny?” Newt crossed his arms, almost dislodging his eggs from his lap. He made a mental note not to eat on the sofa without a tray.

_I haven’t eaten anything._

“So?”

_So I do not, as you say, have business do to._

Newt furrowed his eyebrows, his inner (or not so inner) biology nerd rearing its head once again. “How does that work? I mean, I still crap when I don’t eat for a few days,” he said as he shoveled eggs into his mouth.

The Kaiju finally stood, stretching not unlike a cat. _My digestive system is extremely refined, and my body requires different sustenance than yours._

“Well aren’t you fancy. What exactly does that have to do with anything?”

Ziyou stared down at Newton for a moment before snorting and turning away. _I produce less waste when I do eat and make use of everything I have when I don’t eat. I’m more efficient than you._

Newt thought on this for a moment before finishing off his eggs and shrugging. “That makes sense. I guess it just seemed like you all crapped a lot because your big brothers were a lot…well, bigger than you.” The human stretched as he stood, then crossed the room to stick his plate in the dishwasher. “So, what’s your favorite food then, so I know what to get you?”

_People._

Newton stopped in his tracks, suddenly eyeing the Kaiju warily from his place of relative safety behind the island. “Uh-”

_Hush. I’m not going to ask you to murder anyone to feed me, and I’m certainly not going to eat you._

Relaxing marginally, Newt tried to look natural as he awkwardly reclined as far away from Ziyou as he could. Nothing like hearing your new pal ate your fellow human beings to give a little perspective. 

_I haven’t eaten humans before. It is simply the only taste the Collective supplied me with._

This peaked Newton’s interest. “That sounded like a capital ‘C’ to me.”

Ziyou settled onto his haunches and inclined his dragonesque head. _Yes…the Collective Mind, the…hivemind, as you would call it. The consciousness of my fellows. We were all connected, you see. When you destroyed the connection between our worlds, their voices fell silent. I needed something to fill the void, so I searched your kind’s collective consciousness and discovered you. You did not loathe us as the others did, so I resolved to make you mine._ He snorted out loud, baring his razor-sharp teeth in a predatory excuse for a grin. _And so I have._

Throughout this little speech, Newton was stuck between utter terror and fascination. Out of the six billion people in the world, this Kaiju had chosen him to fill its mind space…it could definitely be seen as a blessing or a curse.

“O- Okay, well…we’re definitely gonna talk about this later, ‘cause I have to be honest when I say that I’ve wanted to talk to a Kaiju for literally years, so I wanna hear all about your society or whatever, but right now…” Newt trailed off as he realized that he really didn’t know where he was going with that particular sentence. He really didn’t have anything to do at the moment. It was too early to go shopping (it was actually eleven o’clock in the morning, but Newt had decided long ago that nothing but science could be accomplished before two) and inviting some old friends over was completely out of the question, so… “Well, right now I have to unpack,” he finally finished rather lamely before retreating into his bedroom once again.

Several minutes later found Newt sitting cross-legged on the bedroom floor surrounded by piles of folded clothes; he was internally cursing his inability to organize when a puff of hot breath on the back of his neck caused the biologist to flinch violently and externalize a few choice words. 

“You could announce yourself, you know!” Newt’s voice was unusually high-pitched, but _yours would be too if a giant six-legged monster had just snuck up on you in your own home-_

Ziyou chuckled inside Newt’s mind. _You seem affronted when I initiate conversation as well. It is…apparently not normal for human beings to speak with their consciousness._

Newton sighed and leaned back, using his outstretched arms for support. “It’s not abnormal so much as it is impossible. Well, I guess some people are supposedly psychic, but that kind of seems like a load of bullshit in my opinion…and there is the Drift, but that’s not exactly-”

_That is how you contacted the Collective?_

“What?”

_This Drift process._

“Yeah, I did. A few times.”

_And the consciousness that accompanied you?_

Newt couldn’t help but smile sheepishly. “Yeah, that was Herm. He came along the second time so I wouldn’t die. Well, he says he did it to prove he was right about the triple-event, but I’m still ninety-eight percent sure it was to keep me alive.”

 _Ah, your non-mate again._ Newt went brick red at this statement, but Ziyou continued speaking, either oblivious or uncaring regarding the human’s apparent discomfort. _You said he is to join you here? I am anxious to meet him._

“Please tell me you’re not planning on eating him or anything. I actually kinda like the guy.”

Ziyou snorted. _Of course I’m not going to eat him. I’m curious as to how he worked with you for ten years without realizing your feelings for him._

If possible, Newton’s face turned an even deeper shade of red. “You’re inside my head, that’s not fair.”

The Kaiju’s expression seemed to soften, though Newt later realized it was probably just a brief emotional leak from the creature’s half of their mental link.

_I do not need to see your thoughts to understand the look in your eyes when you talk about him, hatchling._

Newt slammed his face into a pile of clothes in front of him. Not only was there a Kaiju in his bedroom, and not only was it breaking down every carefully-erected mental wall around Newt’s true feelings, now it was talking to him like he was about three.

“Just shut up,” Newton mumbled through the fabric covering his still-burning face. The following growling laugh made him want to punch Ziyou in the face.

Too bad he was a giant, inter-dimensional lizard created only to destroy mankind: not really something you wanted to punch, no matter how much he reminded you of your mother.


End file.
